U.S. B UDGET DEFICIT RUNNING 41.8 PERCENT AB OVE LAST YEAR

The federal budget deficit in December totaled $13.5 billion, helping to push the deficit for the first three months of this budget year up 41.8 percent from the same period the previous year.

The Treasury Department said Wednesday that the budget deficit from October through December totaled $318.9 billion, up from a deficit of $225 billion for the same three months in the previous year.

So far this budget year, tax revenue is up a tiny 0.2 percent, reflecting the impacts of the tax cuts passed in 2017. Spending is up 9.6 percent.

U.S. consumer prices flat in January.

Consumer prices were unchanged in January, as lower gasoline prices offset the rising costs of housing, clothing and medical care.

The Labor Department said the consumer price index rose only 1.6 percent last month from a year earlier. That matched the slowest pace of annual inflation since June 2017.

Inflation has been tempered by a 10.1 percent plunge over the past 12 months in prices at the gas pump.

Ford recalls 1.5 million pickups that can downshift without warning.

DETROIT» Ford is recalling nearly 1.5 million pickup trucks in North America because the transmissions can suddenly downshift into first gear.

The recall covers F-150 trucks from the 2011 through 2013 model years with six-speed automatic transmissions.

The company says a glitch in sending a signal from the transmission speed sensor is the cause. Ford has five reports of accidents, including one that caused whiplash from a sudden downshift.

Owners will be notified by letter starting March 4. Dealers will update the powertrain control software to fix the problem.

EU tentative deal could affect Russia-Germany gasline.

BRUSSELS

» The European Union’s main institutions have agreed on a tentative deal that will increase the bloc’s role in managing a gas pipeline from Russia to Germany amid concerns about the region’s dependence on Russian energy.

The EU Commission said Wednesday that the agreement with the member states and the EU parliament will tighten regulation and oversight and impose tougher conditions.

— Denver Post wire services